the seven sacred ways of healing

jaye simpson

/let it out/
they tear
through my
rawing throat,
saliva & blood
bubbling out

/let it out/
they tear
through my
rawing throat,
saliva & blood
bubbling out
wild prairie fire
cacophony.
/don’t ask why/

/let it out/
her hand presses
deep into my chest,
pinpointed compression
my chest billows
a fine aerial orchestra
of ancestral trauma.
/tell them what they did/

/let it out/
my head thrown back
screams ripping out of my throat
faster than i can breathe,
my eyes strained, they
hemorrhage
red spreads across my sclera.
/you will never get to ask why/

/let it out/
i cough blood &
retch, i am told
i am letting go of
intergenerational trauma
this way: by letting go
of pain kept in my body.
/tell them what they did/

/let it out/
i can no longer lift
my arms, Zhigaag takes
my place punching the bag,
our screams synchronizing,
letting go breaks everything
i thought i knew
about healing.
/this will follow them/

/let it out/
final screams
dying with vocal fry
& tears tinged red,
i collapse
ribbon skirt pooling
around my crumpled form
hands clawing at chest
Zhigaag’s screams billow out now.
/they will know what it meant/

jaye is a libra sun, sagittarius rising, scorpio moon. jaye is a displaced indigenous person living, creating & occupying on xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-waututh), and sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) First Nations territories. they are a co-organizer of the Indigenous Brilliance reading series, a collaborative series between Room Magazine and Massy Books celebrating Indigenous women/2SQ storytellers. you can find them and their hot takes on twitter at @jayesimpson94.

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